1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a bracket mount for mounting a bar bracket to al vehicle frame, the bar bracket being adapted to carry vehicle accessories such as a mudflap.
2. Description of the Related Art
Bar brackets are typically mounted to a vehicle frame with a mount comprising a flat plate mated to the vehicle frame, and secured thereto with, typically, two or four mechanical fasteners, requiring an equal number of properly aligned penetrations through the vehicle frame. A body extending from the flat plate, and having a square aperture passing therethrough, is adapted to receive the square cross-section of the typical solid bar bracket.
According to the invention, a bracket-mounting assembly for mounting, a mudflap bracket to a vehicle frame comprises a body having a frame-mounting portion and a bracket-mounting portion, the frame-mounting portion having a frame face at one side of the frame-mounting portion adapted to abut the vehicle frame and a lateral hole transverse to the frame face and the bracket-mounting portion having a vertically-extending shaft opening extending at least a portion of the way through the body for removably mounting the mudflap bracket; at least one pin mounted in the frame-mounting portion and projecting from the frame face for impinging on a surface of the vehicle frame to resist relative rotation of the body with respect to the vehicle frame; and a bolt received in the lateral hole in the frame-mounting portion for securing the body to the frame.
In one embodiment, the lateral hole is tapped and the bolt is threadably received in the lateral hole. Preferably, the vertically-extending shaft extends through the bracket-mounting portion. In a preferred embodiment, there are multiple pins mounted in the frame-mounting portion and the pins are spaced about the lateral hole.
In another of its aspects, the invention relates to a bracket-mounting assembly for mounting a mudflap bracket to a vehicle frame comprising a body having a frame-mounting portion and a bracket-mounting portion, the frame-mounting portion having a frame face at one side of the frame-mounting portion adapted to abut the vehicle frame and a tapped lateral hole transverse to the frame face and the bracket-mounting portion having a vertically-extending shaft opening extending at least a portion of the way through the body for removably mounting the mudflap bracket; a bolt threadably received in the tapped lateral hole in the frame-mounting portion for securing the body to the frame; and a rotation-resisting connector on the frame-mounting portion adapted to interface with the vehicle frame to resist relative rotation of the body with respect to the vehicle frame about the axis of the bolt.